Remarks · 8 September 2025
Excellencies, Distinguished Leaders, Friends,
In Nairobi, at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in 2023, we resolved that Africa would not be a bystander in the global transition, but a leader shaping it.
We committed to a bold path of green industrialisation, value addition, inclusion, resilience, and the generation of 300 GW of renewable energy by 2030. This was not merely an energy target, but an economic strategy to place Africa at the forefront of the modern economy, where climate ambition powers investment, competitiveness, and sovereignty.
That Nairobi vision planted seeds of transformation. We launched the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative and the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA), now adopted by the AU. These platforms are Africa-led levers to mobilise capital, build ecosystems of trade and industry, and anchor a climate-resilient global economy.
Yet, challenges remain. Investments are fragmented, value chains weak, and last year, Africa added only 4 GW of renewables, translating to under 1% of the world’s total. Our continent accounts for less than 2% of global trade, with intraAfrican trade just 16%. This must change.
Some may call the task impossible. But history proves otherwise. China multiplied its renewable capacity twentyfold in two decades. India tripled its capacity in just ten years. For Africa, the question is not if it can be done, but whether we will mobilise the finance, infrastructure, and political will to deliver at scale.
We value our partners’ finance, technology, and solidarity. Yet our real agency lies in trusting our own institutions. That is why we convened Africa’s leading financiers to drive AGII delivery, and today we formalise that collaboration. Similarly, APRA has already consolidated a pipeline of USD 2.5 billion in projects, with momentum set to grow at the next forum in Sierra Leone.
I recognise the steadfast partnership of Denmark and Germany, including their role in establishing APRA’s Nairobi Implementation Office. Their solidarity affirms that Africa’s vision finds resonance globally.
Excellencies, Africa’s strength lies in integration and collaboration. No country can build competitive value chains alone. But united, through shared energy systems, financial institutions, and trade corridors, and in partnership with allies, we can transform Africa from a source of raw commodities into a hub of innovation, industry, and green growth.
This Summit reaffirms our clarity and confidence that Africa will grow, industrialise, and create opportunity on a climate-safe planet. Let us turn the 300 GW target into projects, jobs, trade, and long-term prosperity for our people and our continent. I thank you.